In the middle of Passover, the Blue and White chair’s allocated time to form a government comes to an end, and with it, his major leverage against the PM

By Raoul Wootliff, TOI

IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz (left) in a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2015. (Avi Ohayon/GPO/Flash 90)

Despite calls from both Likud and Blue and White for negotiations on forming a national unity government to be completed as soon as possible in order to tackle the coronavirus crisis, Channel 12 news on Monday night reported that the talks could extend until the Passover holiday, which starts next week, and even beyond.

Why is Passover different from all other weeks? Because in the middle of the seven-day festival, on April 12, Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz’s allocated time to form a government that he would head comes to an end, and with it, his major leverage against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Netanyahu’s Likud won 36 Knesset seats in the March 2 election to Blue and White’s 33, but the Likud leader’s right-wing bloc again failed to muster a parliamentary majority. In consultations with President Reuven Rivlin, Gantz won 61 MKs’ recommendation that he form a government, including from the entire Joint List of majority-Arab parties. Read more…

‘Historic milestone’: President Trump announces that over 1 million Americans have been tested

By Andrew O’Reilly, FOX NEWS

President Trump and the Department of Health and Human Services [HHS] announced Monday that the United States has tested over 1 million people for the coronavirus, as the president unveiled a new rapid test kit for the contagion aimed at providing results within five minutes.

Speaking from the White House’s Rose Garden, Trump said that reaching 1 million tests is “a milestone in our war against the coronavirus.”

Trump’s announcement on the new rapid test kit from Abbott Laboratories comes just days after the company said that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had given them emergency clearance to produce its cartridge-based test. The company says that its test delivers a negative result in 13 minutes when the virus is not detected.

Also during the press conference, Trump also announced that Ford is repurposing an auto parts factory west of Detroit to start building simple ventilators to treat coronavirus patients.
Read more…

Watch, as former terrorist reveals the truth/facts:

The Video, released by the pro-Israel groups Canadians for Israel’s Legal Rights and Im Tirtzu, has already been viewed over 150,000 times in the first 24 hoursand 250,000 the next day.

Arutz Sheva

“The so-called occupation is the largest industry of lies in the entire world,” explains former Palestinian Authority terrorist-turned-peace activist Mohammed Masad in a new viral video. Read more…

by Soeren Kern, GATESTONE INSTITUTE  •  March 30, 2020

A demonstration during International Women’s Day on March 8, 2020 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)

• A class action lawsuit filed on March 19 accuses the Spanish government — highly ideological by any standard, as the Communist coalition partner, Podemos, was founded with seed money from the Venezuelan government — of knowingly endangering public safety by encouraging the public to participate in more than 75 feminist marches, held across Spain on March 8, to mark International Women’s Day.
• The Spanish government’s main point man for the coronavirus, Fernando Simón, claimed in a nationwide press conference that there was no risk of attending the rallies on March 8. “If my son asks me if he can go, I will tell him to do whatever he wants,” he said.
• “Honestly, it seems to me a joke that the government has waited until today, clearly for political reasons, to make this announcement. The Socialist-Communist government has once again put its political interests above the common good. This gross negligence should lead to resignations. — Elentir, Contando Estrelas, March 9, 2020.

A class action lawsuit files in Spain accuses the government of knowingly endangering public safety by encouraging the public to participate in more than 75 feminist marches on March 8, to mark International Women’s Day, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Spanish government, comprised of a coalition of Socialists and Communists, is facing legal action for alleged negligence in its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The government is accused of putting its narrow ideological interests ahead of the safety and wellbeing of the public, and, in so doing, unnecessarily worsening the humanitarian crisis now gripping Spain, currently the second-worst afflicted country in Europe after Italy.

Continue Reading Article

T. Belman. I posted this comment on Jewish Journal.

“In a nutshell this article only considers which alternative will save more lives. But what about the question when is enough, enough. e.g. We know that if we lower the speed limit there will be less traffic deaths but we have decided to tolerate a certain number of deaths in order to allow higher speed limits. When we strive for higher and higher perfection we experience the law of diminishing returns. We thus decide to lower our expectations because it is too cstly to achieve a better result.

“Then there is the question of limited resources. We could if we choose to, double our resources at great cost for the few times they are needed. But we don’t. We decide on a certain amount knowing that at times we will run out of resources to deal with a problem.

“Bottom line is, are we prepared to go into economic depression affecting the vast majority of our people in order to save some people. Even if the number of people we save, is lass that the number of flu deaths or traffic deaths. Or even if deaths from coronavirus would exceed those deaths.

“You tell me.”

By Pamela Parensky, JEWISH JOURNAL | MAR 29, 2020

Coronavirus Wuhan. US quarantine, 100 dollar banknote with medical mask. The concept of epidemic and protection against coronavrius.

By now, commentators have noted the similarities between our coronavirus crisis and the classic “trolley problem,” first formulated by the late philosopher Philippa Foot.

Imagine there’s a runaway trolley heading straight for five people who will be killed. You’re standing next to a lever. If you pull it, the trolley will switch to a different track where only one person will be killed.

Read more…

A secret Pentagon directive orders planning to try to destroy a militia group backed by Iran, but America’s top general in Iraq cautions of the risks.

By Mark Mazzetti and Eric Schmitt, NYT March 27, 2020

American military vehicles at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq in January. A new military campaign in Iraq could require thousands more troops. Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has ordered military commanders to plan for an escalation of American combat in Iraq, issuing a directive last week to prepare a campaign to destroy an Iranian-backed militia group that has threatened more attacks against American troops.But the United States’ top commander in Iraq has warned that such a campaign could be bloody and counterproductive and risks war with Iran. In a blunt memo last week, the commander, Lt. Gen. Robert P. White, wrote that a new military campaign would also require thousands more American troops be sent to Iraq and divert resources from what has been the primary American military mission there: training Iraqi troops to combat the Islamic State.

The Pentagon directive and General White’s response — both classified internal military communications — were described by several American officials with direct knowledge of their contents. The exchange comes amid a simmering fight inside the Trump administration over policy toward Iran and the course of America’s war in Iraq, which began just over 17 years ago.
Read more…

If the video is not working, go to Watters Words

By Col. (res.) Dr. Dan Gottlieb and Lt. Col. (res.) Dr. Mordechai Kedar, BESA

Turkish forces enter Alexandretta on July 5, 1938, photo via Wikipedia

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The 290 Turkish soldiers killed in action on Syrian soil in recent years are a grim reminder of the unsettled questions that continue, after decades, to poison relations between the two neighboring countries.

Turkish soldiers have been killed on Syrian soil with disturbing regularity over the past few years. Seventeen died there prior to Operation Euphrates Shield and another 72 during that operation, which went on from August 24, 2016 through March 29, 2017. Ninety-six were killed during Operation Olive Branch (January 20, 2018-August 9, 2019), 16 in Operation Peace Spring (October 9, 2019-November 25, 2019), 14 after that operation, and 75 in the current Turkish military operation in Idlib province.

The enmity between Turkey and Syria is a longstanding component of the modern Middle Eastern political arena. It is concealed from time to time by other regional trends and events, but it is always present. Syria was the only state of the Arab League’s 22 member states to recognize the Armenian Genocide (though Lebanon eventually recognized it as well). Read more…

Experts weigh in on the kingdom’s slashing of prices while demand plummets

By Dr. Villy Abraham / THE MEDIA LINE MARCH 30, 2020

A worker fills a vehicle with petrol at a gas station in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 16, 2020. (photo credit: AHMED YOSRI/ REUTERS)

Saudi Arabia, the world’s second-largest oil producer, started a price war, ushered in by failed talks between OPEC and Russia. The talks were intended to address the major challenge posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

“The Saudi’s motive for cutting production was the drop in demand for oil which is a consequence of the lockdowns enforced around the world over coronavirus,” Danny Zaken, a journalist and lecturer at Sapir Academic College, told The Media Line.

Russia refused to cut production and consequently negotiations failed and the alliance between OPEC and Russia collapsed. Russia says it is waiting to see what the full impact of the outbreak will be on demand.
Read more…

T. Belman. The allocation of portfolios is a big deal. Big enough to create big pressure to find an alternative to what is being touted. Afterall, the right block is only 3 mandates short of forming a government yet the center left get half the portfolios. Its not right.

Netanyahu, Gantz meet all night then fight all day.

By Gill Hoffman, JPOST MARCH 29, 2020 23:29

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the nation on the coronavirus outbreak, March 19, 2020 (photo credit: AMOS BEN-GERSHOM/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz met from 10:30pm on Saturday night to 6:30am on Sunday morning and reported that they had made “significant progress” in a joint statement, vowing to meet again later Sunday to finalize an agreement on a new government.

But that meeting never ended up happening, as leaks about possible portfolios made each side harden their positions as they faced both public pressure and complaints from inside their parties and blocs.

They still talked about issuing a joint statement on Monday, but it appeared increasingly likely late Sunday that a new government would not be sworn in until next week.
Read more…

Ruth Wisse Teaches George Eliot’s Great Novel of Jewish Nationalism:
Daniel Deronda

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com 
The Jewish State in its true light.

In the 29th Mar 20 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

• Hundreds of Israeli companies, academics and NGOs are working to combat coronavirus.
• Top Israeli companies are donating cash to help fight coronavirus.
• Israeli tech advances are just some of the positive effects of the coronavirus.
• Israeli microgreens contain concentrated immune system-boosting nutrients.
• The Internet is full of Israeli ideas for things to do while in isolation.
• El AL flew its longest-ever flight, to bring home 230 Israelis from Australia.
• Prayers for rain have filled the Sea of Galilee – and are now tackling coronavirus.

Read more…

By Eileen F. Toplansky, AMERICAN THINKER

The National Association of Scholars (NAS) has produced a report titled “Social Justice Education in America.”  Written by David Randall, it defines, describes, and delineates many of the destructive and deceptive ideas behind the innocent-sounding social justice programs that have mushroomed in American institutions of higher learning.

According to this December 2019 report, “in the last twenty years, a generation of academics and administrators has transformed higher education into an engine of progressive political advocacy.”  Identity politics plays a major role in how social justice will be administered.  Social justice activists work to increase the “state’s coercive power” to decide who will get their fair share concerning employment, housing, income, health care, leisure, political power, property, social recognition, and wealth.

Consequently, social justice buzz words such as food justice, educational poverty, and health equity aim to increase state power “to tax the citizenry to fund progressive spending priorities.” If social justice warriors deem it, then any alleged privilege must be eliminated so that “identity groups defined by categories such as class, race, and gender” will not be oppressed.
Read more…

PM and Israel Resilience leader to meet again later Sunday to try to reach signed deal, but report says still no final agreement on distribution of ministries

TOI STAFF

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) greets Benny Gantz, leader of Blue and White party, at a memorial ceremony for late Israeli president Shimon Peres, at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on September 19, 2019. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Resilience party chief Benny Gantz wrapped up an all-night meeting early Sunday on the terms of a unity government, which they were hoping to finalize later in the day.

A joint statement from the two said they reached “understandings and significant progress” during the talks at the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem, without elaborating.

Further talks will be held later Sunday with the aim of reaching a signed deal, according to the statement.

Israel Resilience MK Gabi Ashkenazi, Gantz’s deputy, also took part in the overnight meeting.

Read more…

By Frank Camp, DailyWire

On Friday, Fox News released a new general election poll that comes as great news for former Vice President Joe Biden.

The poll, which was conducted on 1,011 “registered voters” between March 21 – 24, found that if the November election were held today, former Vice President Joe Biden would beat President Trump by a nine-point margin.

The poll asked: “If the 2020 presidential election were held today, how would you vote if the candidates were [Biden and Trump]?”

49% of respondents said they would vote for Biden, while 40% said they would vote for Trump. This has changed little from previous Fox News polls taken in February, January, and December in which Biden scored 49%, 50%, and 48%, respectively, and Trump scored 41% in all three.
Read more…

H. Laitin. (Puts things in perspective.)

The United States’ national survival problem is not the coronavirus…..it is a potential EMP attack that could destroy life as we know it

I am not panicked by the threat presented to the United States that is presented by the current coronavirus epidemic. We should have taken the approach that England recently advocated (and then subsequently abandoned under political pressure). That was to have widespread testing and when an infection was detected to give treatment to the patient and also to actively quarantine those who had been in close contact. Also, sharply reducing the social contact the most vulnerable age/medical condition groups may be warranted. (This means those over 65 or 70 with certain pulmonary, heart or other complications).

Closely following the incidence, prevalence, treatment effectiveness, recovery and death data and monitoring developments in proposed testing, treatments etc. convince me that the current coronavirus situation will and up being no worse and that we annually suffer from opioid abuse, annual flu epidemics etc. [ As Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator for the White House coronavirus task force, noted the recent lowered estimate of deaths in Britain from Imperial College London expert Neil Ferguson [ a 96% reduction ] means that the apocalyptic fears ( Worst-Case Coronavirus Science) may not be warranted.]

On the other hand I have long been concerned by the threat to our nation’s survival that could come from an EMP attack.I have approached this from two ends. Our extensive grid vulnerabilities and the increasing capability of hostile state actors and nonstate actors to mount low cost, highly damaging attacks

I have long been familiar with the work of Dr. Peter Pry and his associates and I agree fully with his concerns and his recommendations as to needed actions and needed fixes.

if there is any item of study that I would want my name [legacy] associated with at RAND , it’s would be the thorough analysis of the EMP threat and a resulting [and implemented action program] of prevention.

By Peter Pry, NEWSMAX

If you think the coronavirus is frightening, wait until a solar superstorm or electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack blacks-out the national electric grid, collapses the economy and critical infrastructures for food and water, and 9-of-10 Americans die of starvation.

One year ago, President Trump issued his excellent “Executive Order on Coordinating National Resilience to Electromagnetic Pulses” (March 26, 2019) responding to 20 years of warnings by the EMP Commission that solar superstorms, or manmade EMP from nuclear or non-nuclear weapons, poses an existential threat to the U.S. and to global electronic civilization.
Read more…

There is a case to be made for draconian measures to reduce the overall number of infections and thus deaths, but putting the entire economy into abeyance and immuring the population rather than focusing on the vulnerable may cause more harm than good

By Conrad Black, NATIONAL POST

The Canadian government’s management of the coronavirus crisis, if judged by what it does and its leaders say, is completely inadequate. Their relief bill is probably not sufficient in quantum or in efficiency for those unemployed or under-employed as a result of the public health crisis, and the relief for small businesses is also probably insufficiently liquid and too bureaucratic. The closing of the U.S. border is nonsensical. And if the U.S. Army is moved to deploy significant numbers of its personnel to the border, as was briefly suggested earlier this week, it will be a demoralizing, as well as an absurd, event. The last time we had armed uniformed people on that border was when George-Etienne Cartier, as Canada’s first minister of defence and militia, placed the formidable force of 50,000 along the Quebec and New Brunswick borders with the U.S., and near the Thousand Islands and at Niagara Falls and around Windsor, in 1870, to deter the Fenians. These were Irish-American malcontents who wished to repay the British Crown for the Irish famine of the 1850s by seizing Canada. At least there was a legitimate reason for having armed force at the border; there has been none since for 150 years.
Read more…

by Jim Hoft, GATEWAY PUNDIT
March 27, 2020

On Friday night Laura Ingraham was the first mainstream reporter to question the WHO’s suggested mortality rate of the coronavirus of 3.4%.

There are two main organizations behind the global coronavirus panic.
** 
The first was World Health Organization’s Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who claimed in a press conference in early March that the fatality rate for the coronavirus was many multiples that of the fatality rate of the common flu. Ghebreyesus claimed the coronavirus had a 3.4% mortality rate and incorrectly compared this inaccurate number to the annual estimated flu mortality rate of 0.1%.
** 

And the second organization was the Imperial College study from London that claimed half a million Brits would die in the pandemic and 2 million Americans would perish from COVID-19.

They were both wrong. Read more…